Fri. Dec. 15 – Your genial hosts Maetar present their uplifting world groove with special guests Lili Haydn (violin), Norton Wisdom (improvisational painting) and Shere Disraeli (son of Maetar bassist Itai, delivering soulful rock vocals & guitar). Different and good. At Corazon Performing Arts Center, 125 S. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga 90290; 9pm; $20 suggested donation; www.corazonperformingarts.com.
Fri.-Sun. Dec. 15-17 – Superfeel funky shader and mondo fusion jammer Mike Stern puts his guitar in front of a star quartet featuring drummer Dave Weckl, trumpeter Randy Brecker and bassist Tom Kennedy. BREAKING NEWS: Stern's wife, the wonderful guitarist Leni Stern, is joining the jam! At Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 90028; 8:30 & 10:30pm (Sun. 7:30 & 9:30); $25-$35; (323) 466-2210; www.catalinajazzclub.com.
Sun. Dec. 17 – Fall into the easy atmosphere of trumpeter Elliott Caine's quintet, laying down a personal curation of souljazz, bop and Latin classics plus a healthy selection of Caine's swinging originals. Read my live review here. At the York Bar and Restaurant, 5018 York Blvd., Highland Park 90042; 7:30-10pm; no cover; (323) 255-9675.
Sun. Dec. 17 – No singers alive dredge the roots of gospel like The Blind Boys of Alabama. This Xmas show also features the Preservation Hall Legacy Horns and blues singer-guitarist Ruthie Foster. A CAP UCLA presentation at the Theatre at Ace Hotel, 929 S. Broadway, L.A. 90015; 7pm; $30-$60; tix here.
Wed. Dec. 20 – Percussionist Charles Pagano and guitarist Scott Bazar are Florida's Plutonian Burrito, jamming free alongside film projections. Plus: guaranteed local improvisational excellence from the guitar & electronix duo of Carey Fosse & Joe Berardi. At The Battery Books & Music, 26 S. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena 91101; 8pm; $5 suggested donation; (626) 376-9913.
Wed. Dec. 20 – Milwaukee's ferocious punkers Holy Shit! remind me of the Minutemen and the Germs; L.A.'s Fatal Jamz pose glammy pop-rock; poet laureate of indolence John Tottenham does a short and hilarious reading; Derek James and Isabella Behravan deejay and try to locate a common thread. At Zebulon, 2478 Fletcher Drive, Frogtown 90039; doors 8pm; FREE; 21+; www.zebulon.la.
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RIP Sunny Murray. He floated, he pushed, he implied, he sympathized, he contradicted – no other drummer exemplifies the boundlessness of 1960s free jazz like Sunny Murray. This musician could give you the same feeling as looking at the Milky Way, where you perceive a universal order without being able to map its structure. Best known for totally abstract work such as "Holy Ghost" with Albert Ayler (1965), Murray might make you think he was unconcerned with traditional timekeeping. Listen to "Consequences" with Archie Shepp (1964), though, and hear how crisply he could tease out a steady direction for the blurt and bluster around him. A special example of Murray's genius is "Bulbs" with Cecil Taylor (1961), where he initially serves as chunks of improvisational okra tumbling into a bold recipe, then becomes the driving and unifying force behind a tumultuous clash of contrastingly flavored ingredients. After Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane pointed a direction, Sunny Murray took it all the way out.
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Read Don Heckman’s jazz picks here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here. Read Brick Wahl's noirish music commentaries here.